


Their Christmas Miracles

by Skeiler



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Canon Compliant, Christmas Angst, Christmas Fluff, M/M, to the extent that anything in overwatch is canon compliant given how little canon there is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-22
Updated: 2017-12-22
Packaged: 2019-02-18 09:32:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13097286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skeiler/pseuds/Skeiler
Summary: Five Times Jack and Gabe Were Together At Christmas and One Time They Weren't - From the SEP days to the present, Jack and Gabe and their Christmas miracles.





	Their Christmas Miracles

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Veraverorum (your_Mother)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/your_Mother/gifts).



> Merry Christmas Veraverorum!! <3 I hope this brings you joy. <3

****_miracle, n.: a wonderful object, a marvel; a person or thing of more than natural excellence; a surpassing specimen or example of some quality._

 

1.

 

_Have a holly jolly Christmas,_  
_It’s the best time of the year!_  
_I don’t know if there’ll be snow,_  
_But have a cup of cheer-_

The words of the old Christmas song rang against the walls of the SEP mess hall, a raucous cacophony of off-key voices as a bunch of drunken soldiers alternately screeched the words they could remember or mumbled through the ones they couldn’t. Bad singing voices and forgotten lyrics weren’t going to stop this particular party, however, since it was likely the last one they were going to get for a long time. They were nearing the end of their formal training and would be going into the field against the omnics soon, so every holiday and birthday was celebrated as enthusiastically as possible.

_Have a holly, jolly Christmas,_  
_And when you walk down the street_  
_Say hello to friends you know_  
_And everyone you meet!_

Gabe scooped up another giant helping of mashed potatoes and dumped it on his plate. The food that the SEP base kitchen normally turned out was generally understood to be high in protein and the other things their changing bodies needed, but woefully low on flavor. The feast they’d served up tonight of turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, latkes, sufganiyot, lamb biryani, and halva, among other things, was a smorgasbord that catered to the various winter holidays of the SEP soldiers. And Gabriel Reyes was not going to let a thing go to waste, even if he already felt like he was going to burst.

“You know you’re going to regret all that cream and butter and carbs tomorrow morning when we’re back on another million-mile run,” Jack commented as Gabe shoveled a spoonful of potatoes into his mouth.

“Maybe so,” Gabe replied. “But I’m not regretting it right now.”

Jack smiled his sunshine smile at Gabe and reached for the green bean casserole.

“You know that’s not much better for you than mashed potatoes,” Gabe remarked.

“It’s got green beans in it! They’re vegetables!” Jack replied with a laugh. “And it reminds me of home.”

Gabe wasn’t sure what to say to that. He had gotten the feeling recently that Jack was missing his home back in Indiana, a million little things hinting at some deeply felt homesickness. “Yeah. I bet.”

Jack pushed the green beans and fried onions around on his plate. “I wish we could get out of here. Just the two of us, you know. Hit the road for a while. Get away from all this.”

The serious tone in Jack’s voice made Gabe frown. “Yeah? Where would we go?”

“Anywhere,” Jack replied. “I just want to go anywhere with you.”

They caught each other’s eyes then, and Gabe felt his heart skip a beat at the way Jack’s eyes sparkled like sun on the Pacific. He was about to say something when suddenly the room erupted into shouts and the soldiers nearest the windows started jumping up and crowding up against the glass. “It’s snowing!” people were yelling. “Snow! Real snow!” and then as more people joined those at the windows they all started singing again

 _Oh, the weather outside is frightful_  
_But the fire is so delightful_  
_And since we've no place to go_  
_Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow_

Gabe moved to stand up and go over to join them, but he was stopped by the feeling of Jack’s hand on his arm. When he turned back, Jack gave a little nod towards the doors back towards their barracks and gave the fabric of Gabe’s hoodie a light tug. Gabe dropped his spoon on top of the potatoes left on his plate and followed Jack.

Once they were in the hallway, Jack took Gabe’s hand and kept pulling him along. “Jack, where are we-”

“Shh,” Jack shushed him and kept pulling him along until they reached Jack’s room. Once inside, Jack pointed up to the ceiling. He gave Gabe a mischievous smile. “Oh, would you look at that?”

Gabe looked up and saw a bundle of mistletoe suspended above him. “What the-”

Jack silenced him with a kiss, the kind of hurried and sloppy kiss you’d expect from some Indiana farm boy trying to snatch a few stolen moments with his boyfriend in the dorm before his roommate came back. Gabe kissed Jack back, the fear that someone might come looking for them and find them necking like college freshmen away from home for the first time only adding a high thrill of excitement.

“We should head back before someone misses us,” Gabe breathed huskily as Jack pushed Gabe’s hoodie out of the way and kissed the skin just beneath his ear. “Someone might come looking for us.”

“Hmmm,” Jack murmured in response. “Let them.”

“ _Jack_ ,” Gabe exhaled huskily as Jack’s hands slipped behind the waistband of his trousers.

They never made it back to the party.

 

2.

 

The building they’d taken shelter in the day before was missing a roof, the majority of its floors, and most of two walls which had been demolished by the shelling the omnics had laid down across this section of the city. There was nothing stopping the sleety drizzle from falling straight down on everyone’s heads. There were precious few benefits to holing up in it — pretty much the only one of which was that the omnics thought they’d cleared this sector and wouldn’t be looking for a few straggling soldiers just trying to catch their breath.

Jack shivered in the nook he’d found on what was left of the building’s third floor that had given him the best vantage point of the surrounding streets. He was looking forward to hearing the short chirp on his radio that meant his watch was over and he could rejoin the rest of their troop. They hadn’t lit a fire for fear of attracting the omnics — it was dangerous enough to have so many warm bodies in one place giving off a thermal signature that any omnic would recognize immediately — but at least they’d been supplied with enough heating packs for the gloves and shoes that they weren’t likely to see anyone lose fingers or toes to frostbite and they had flameless ration heaters so they could put some warm food in their stomachs.

When the signal finally came, Jack wearily made his way back down to the sublevel where everyone else was sitting in silence. He instinctually looked around immediately for Gabe and caught sight of him crouched by Sullivan and Garcia, their medic. They were huddled around the supine form of Tang, who’d taken a shot from a E54’s recon mode machine gun. Gabe looked grim.

Jack took the time to check in with the other members of their platoon huddles in 2s and 3s among the rubble. They were trying to keep their heat signature as indistinguishable as possible by spreading themselves out. Jack had no idea if that was working, or if it would just make it easier for the omnics to pick them off if they stumbled upon the group, but it had been Gabe’s call as platoon leader and Jack wasn’t in the business of questioning his decisions. Everyone that Jack spoke to was quiet — which was to be expected, considering the circumstances. Only Daugherty seemed chipper.

“It’s Christmas!” he informed Jack. “Just wish the fucking omnics understood the concept of a Christmas truce.”

Jack laughed at that and headed to the hollow in the rubble that he and Gabe were sharing. He tried to make himself as comfortable as he could, but the drizzle had managed to create a little pool in the middle of the tarp he’d laid on the ground. Jack sighed and did the best he could to dry things off before dropping like a dead weight onto the ground and doing his best to get a little warm.

He was just dozing off when he felt Gabe sit down beside him — closer than, perhaps, was strictly proper between a platoon leader and his second in command. But Jack wasn’t complaining. Without opening his tired eyes, he shifted so that he could lean into Gabe.

“This isn’t exactly the Christmas trip we were talking about last year,” Gabe said in a low voice.

Jack chuckled. “No, it isn’t.”

“Where were we going to go?”

“Santa Claus, Indiana,” Jack replied. “Home of Santa’s candy castle.”

Gabe huffed a laugh. “Right. The year-round Christmas place.”

“You’d love it and you know it,” Jack teased.

Gabe hummed, and the vibration in his chest warmed Jack right up. They sat there in companionable silence, letting the heat from their bodies warm each other. It was hard to believe that he could feel peaceful in the middle of a warzone, with an enemy as implacable and inexplicable as the omnics coming for them. But here he was, somewhat warm and nestled against the person who meant the most to him in all the world. Jack wouldn’t want to spend Christmas any other way.

“Hey,” Gabe said and gave Jack a slight shake. “It’s snowing." 

Jack’s eyes opened and saw that fat, soft flakes had replaced the fine drizzle. In the intermittent pools of light from their field lanterns, the flakes sparkled as they drifted down upon the silent men. From one of the other huddled groups came the soft, low sound of muted singing. 

 _Snow is fallin'_  
_All around me_  
_Children playin'_  
_Having fun_  
_It's the season_  
_Of love and understanding_  
_Merry Christmas everyone_

By the end of the verse the sound faded away as everyone tried to set up tarps and move under the few bits of ceiling left overhead. Jack and Gabe managed to cover their meagre shelter just enough that they probably wouldn’t wake up covered in snow. 

“Merry Christmas, Gabe,” Jack murmured against Gabe’s chest.

“Feliz navidad, mi amor,” Gabe rumbled back.

 

3.

 

“And THIS,” Reinhardt said triumphantly, wielding a steaming jug, “is Glühwein.”

The giant Crusader-turned-Overwatch stalwart thumped the jug down on the table in the midst of the various green-stemmed wine goblets he’d deposited already. With the other hand, he dropped a tin box in front of Gabe.

“Glühwein and Lebkuchen, and Hasselhoff singing the classics!” Reinhardt roared before bursting into song.

 _Stille Nacht! Heil'ge Nacht!_  
_Alles schläft; einsam wacht_  
_Nur das traute hoch heilige Paar._  
_Holder Knab' im lockigen Haar,_  
_Schlafe in himmlischer Ruh!_

“The only way this could be better is if I could take you all to the Rothenburg Reiterlesmarkt,” Reinhardt opined. “Ahh, if only you could have seen it before the Crisis! It’s a sorry affair these days.”

“But Reinhardt…” Gabe spoke up, trying to catch the German’s attention. Ana patted his hand gently and poured warm spiced wine into one of the goblets.

“Gabriel, it’s best to let him have this,” Ana said as she took a sip. “We deserve to enjoy the holiday.”

“But Ana,” Gabe whispered, “It’s February 12th.”

“Yes, Gabriel,” boomed Reinhardt as he slapped a hand onto Gabriel’s shoulder and nearly pushed him facedown into the table. “But we were fighting omnics on Christmas and couldn’t enjoy ourselves.”

“Where did you get these Christmas cookies, Reinhardt?” Jack asked around a mouthful of them. “I thought they only made them for Christmas.”

“Ja, that is true. But I have been saving these that meine Mutter sent me from home until we could eat them together and celebrate our victories!”

Jack mumbled what must have been his thanks as he chewed the delicious gingerbread-like cookies. In spite of himself, Gabe couldn’t help but smile to see the four of them relaxed and happy. They’d had some long, hard months and for the moment it was nice to be able to think about something other than the next hotspot they were all going to be deployed to. He let the raucous conversation flow on around him, and let his attention drift to the window. Their base here in Geneva was temporary — more of a field HQ than a real base of operations — and he enjoyed the views of the mountains and the lake. It reminded him of going up to Tahoe with his family in the winter. The view outside was pretty hazy at the moment, however. Gabe was squinting to try and figure out why when the door to their little mess burst open and Liao and Torbjörn stomped in.

“It’s snowing!” the diminutive Swede shouted. “We’ll have good skiing tomorrow. Ah! Is that Glögg I smell?”

“It’s snowing?” Jack asked excitedly. He pushed back from the table and headed over to the window. “Gabe, it’s snowing!”

Gabe went over to join Jack at the window. He put his arm around Jack’s shoulder. Jack leaned into Gabe, the shift in his stance as automatic as breathing after so many years. Gabe watched the snow fall on the distant lights of Geneva and felt the motion of Jack’s breathing against his torso and felt completely at peace.

“You know,” Jack said. “I could get used to this.”

“Could you?” Gabe asked. “I don’t know if I could. I miss the desert too much. You think they’d make this our permanent base?”

Jack shrugged under the weight of Gabe’s arm. “Anywhere’s fine by me as long as we’re together.”

 

4.

 

 _Rockin' around the Christmas tree_  
_At the Christmas party hop_  
_Mistletoe hung where you can see_  
_Every couple tries to stop_  
_Rockin' around the Christmas tree_  
_Let the Christmas spirit ring_  
_Later we'll have some pumpkin pie_  
_And we'll do some caroling_

Jack leaned on the railing of the first floor mezzanine overlooking the Overwatch headquarters grand entryway. The central area of the foyer was dominated by a 12 foot Christmas tree — that still managed to seem normal-sized when Reinhardt, in full Saint Nicholas costume, was standing next to it. The giant German was handing out brightly wrapped gifts to the children present. Some of them were the children of Overwatch agents or other UN officials, but a considerable number were orphaned refugees hand-picked for the occasion for an undeniably perfect photo op. In the back of his head, Jack heard Gabe’s wry commentary about pimping children for approval points, but Jack still firmly believed the kids benefitted as much as Overwatch did from things like this.

As the children crowded noisily around Reinhardt and his helper elves, Jack watched servers with platters of crudités and flutes of champagne circulate among the adults hovering around the edge of Santa’s wonderland. A staged photo op this might be, but it still made Jack smile to think of kids getting to have a peaceful and bountiful Christmas for the first time in — Christ, years. Too long. Some of the younger kids might never have seen the kind of glittering Christmas Jack had known as a youngster. With the Omnic Crisis long behind them and the world recovering from the post-war financial crisis, everything was finally looking good for the foreseeable future.

“Kiddos seem to be enjoying themselves,” a voice rumbled behind Jack. He turned and saw Gabe standing against the wall. Jack smiled when he saw him — couldn’t help himself, even after all these years. Even when he saw Gabe was still wearing the dark hoodie and tactical boots he normally sported for an operation.

“Going somewhere?” Jack asked. He tried not to pry too deeply into Gabe’s and Blackwatch’s movements, but Jack was surprised to think they might be shipping out somewhere on Christmas Eve.

“What?” Gabe asked. Jack pointed to Gabe’s gear and Gabe laughed. “I didn’t realize I was expected to dress up for this. I’m not the one who’s got to be in his dress uniform looking all pretty.”

It was Jack’s turn to laugh. “Yeah, no one would make the mistake of calling you pretty.”

“Damn right,” Gabe said. He reached for Jack’s hand and pulled him forward into a tight embrace. “You, on the other hand…”

Jack looked around sharply as Gabe leant in and planted a kiss on his neck. “Gabe…”

Gabe paid no attention to Jack, who squirmed a bit as Gabe drew him closer for a long kiss. Among the agents of Overwatch, Jack and Gabe’s relationship was an open secret, but it wasn’t something they advertised in front of the UN officials who were their ultimate overseers. Jack was particularly concerned that they maintain a professional façade when the press was around. He had enough to do to make sure Blackwatch didn’t attract the wrong kind of attention — if it came out that Blackwatch existed and its commander was fucking the Strike Commander of Overwatch… Well, it wouldn’t be the kind of sunny, wholesome image the UN liked to promote.

Jack gently pushed Gabe away and started straightening his uniform. Gabe chuckled and straightened the medal on his lapel. “We’ll pick this up later, then, Strike Commander. After your photo ops.”

“Yes we will, Commander,” Jack replied with mock formality. Gabe stuffed his hands into the pockets of his hoodie and backed away down the hallway.

Later, as Jack was standing in the midst of jubilant children and the boisterous Santa and elves, he thought he caught sight of Gabe standing in the darkness and the fresh flurries of snow beyond the warm glow of Overwatch’s lights.

 

5.

 

The annual Overwatch winter holiday party was in full swing around Jack, but unlike years past this was a much muted affair. They’d lost good agents and close friends recently, questions were being asked about things best left to the shadows, and even Torbjörn as Santa and his unlikely elf assistant Reinhardt were hard pressed to spread much holiday cheer. The decision had been taken to have one combined event instead of separate parties for each of the winter holidays celebrated by the various members of Overwatch. The guest list had been carefully curated — limited to Overwatch agents and their families and a very select few friends from outside the organization. Jack was aware that Ana was hovering among the crowd, ever watchful, her owl-like eyes tracking Fareeha’s every movement.

Notably, this was the first time Jack could remember seeing a complement of Blackwatch agents present at the party, even if they kept themselves apart and spoke only to each other in whispers that accompanied judgmental glances. The only Blackwatch team members who broke with this were the kid cowboy and the cyborg ninja, who was following Angela Ziegler around like an adoring, if dangerous, dog.

A loud _CRACK!_ erupted behind Jack, causing him to flinch. Several more _CRACK!_ s resounded around Jack, an explosion sounds reminiscent of Fourth of July firecrackers or automatic rifle fire. It was just Lena handing out Christmas crackers to everyone, but Jack felt the tightness in his chest he always associated with the sudden surge of bad memories and tried to resist the urge to duck and cover. He wished that Gabe was there, but that only made his heart sink further.

Jack glanced back over at the clump of Blackwatch agents and was surprised to see that Gabe had appeared among them while Jack hadn’t been looking. He was standing next to Dr. O’Deorain, who’d joined Blackwatch recently on Gabe’s invitation. There was a lot that Jack found questionable about her — he knew something of Moira O’Deorain’s reputation for risk-taking, but when Gabe had floated the idea of recruiting her Jack had green-lit the idea without question. He had a lot on his plate, and he’d always had faith in Gabe to make good decisions.

Now, however, Jack wasn’t sure that Gabe _was_ making good decisions. Gabe looked pale and drawn beneath the hood of his sweatshirt, his bloodless lips pursed tight and his skin waxy. It shook Jack to see him this way — but that only made Jack blame himself for not spending more time with Gabe, not being more observant when they _had_ been together. Jack headed straight for him.

“Merry Christmas,” Jack greeted the Blackwatch team. Their response was polite, but guarded, as if they mistrusted Jack’s motives for approaching them. Blackwatch had always been an insular group, but never before had Jack thought of them as being something separate. Something foreign.

“Jack,” Gabe growled in a voice far deeper and raspier than Jack expected.

“Gabe,” Jack replied. “Can we…?”

With a nod, Jack indicated that he wanted to talk to Gabe privately. Reluctantly, it seemed, Gabe followed him out of the main foyer into a side hallway.

 _Have yourself a merry little Christmas_  
_Let your heart be light_  
_From now on your troubles will be out of sight_

The music filtered out of the foyer as Gabe leaned against the wall. He was acting like any one of the thousands of criminal suspects Jack had encountered over the course of his career — avoiding looking at Jack, hunching his shoulders inwards to try and diminish himself. A sheen of sweat covered his forehead. Jack reached out instinctively to touch him, but Gabe pulled away. The music was beginning to feel oppressive to Jack.

 _Have yourself a merry little Christmas_  
_Make the Yuletide gay_  
_From now on your troubles will be miles away_

“Gabe, what’s going on?” Jack asked.

“Nothing, Jack,” Gabe rumbled at him. “Everything’s fine.”

“Clearly, things are not fine. You look like hell,” Jack replied, an edge of anger creeping into his voice.

“It’s _nothing_ , Jack, just a cold or the flu or something,” Gabe nearly snarled at him, his voice barely rising above the murmur of the party.

_Here we are as in olden days  
Happy golden days of yore_

“Are you sure? Do you want me to get Dr. Ziegler?” Jack asked.

“ _No_.” Gabe’s hand shot out and grabbed Jack’s arm as he turned towards the party. Something registered as _wrong_ in the back of Jack’s mind, but before he could focus his eyes, Gabe had shoved his hands back in his hoodie pockets and taken a step away from Jack.

_Faithful friends who are dear to us  
T’ gather near to us once more_

“Look, Gabe,” Jack began, taking a softer approach. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in _months_ — not really. Let’s get away, just the two of us. I- I miss you.”

Again Jack reached out for Gabe, and this time Gabe let Jack’s hand rest gently on his shoulder for a moment before shrugging away. Jack just had time to register that Gabe felt _cold_ beneath the layers of clothing.

“Yeah, let’s,” Gabe said hurriedly. “Let’s do something — just the two of us. After Venice. I gotta go now, we’re prepping for an op. I’ll see you soon.”

“Okay,” Jack sighed as Gabe turned and walked away. “After Venice.”

 

& 1.

 

“Jack, it’s freezing out,” Ana chided him gently. “And this is _such_ a risk.”

Jack grunted as he zipped up his jacket. He’d set aside his usual jacket and gear in favor of something more appropriate for the current white out conditions in New York City. A winter storm had come roaring out of the north earlier in the day, dumping snow on the five boroughs. The arctic gear Jack was currently strapping on would get him through the storm still raging outside.

Ana sipped the tea steaming in her mug. She had made her views about this mission of Jack’s very clear, but Jack was declining to follow her advice.

It took Jack nearly an hour to navigate his way through the city, avoiding subways and buses and main thoroughfares. Even though it was barely past midnight local time, the city was silent and dead as everyone with any sense hunkered down out of the wind and snow. Beneath his heavy gear, Jack barely felt the cold as he crept through alleys to avoid as many security cameras as possible. It wouldn’t do any good for Soldier: 76 to be caught on camera on US soil right now.

When he reached his destination, Jack paused and carefully assessed the area. His enhanced vision his visor awarded him didn’t show any movement on the quiet street in front of him. The snow was falling so thickly, however, that even the visor didn’t have a great field of vision, so Jack proceeded with caution, his right hand hovering close to the pistol strapped to his thigh. As Jack reached the address he was looking for and crept up the stairs to the door, boots crunching on ice. For a moment, Jack thought he saw movement behind him — a dark shadow within the swirling snow that wasn’t quite right, a hint of some now-familiar darkness. Jack swung around, pistol at the ready, but all he saw was the eerie glow of the streetlights between the snow-laden trees.

From his shoulder he dropped his backpack to the ground and crouched over it. Carefully, he removed a beautifully wrapped present and set it carefully against the door.

After checking that the area was still clear, Jack rang the brownstone’s doorbell and retreated into the shadows. He watched as a tall, dark-haired man in his bathrobe opened the door and sleepily peered into the blowing snow. Through his visor, Jack watched him nervously look around to see if anyone was there before shutting the door. Just as Jack was thinking that the man was going to miss the present, the man paused, stooped, and picked it up. Jack watched him inspect it, turning the tag hanging from the bow over to read it. The man peered once again into the heavily falling snow, before the muted sounds of a woman and child called the man back inside.

Once he’d confirmed delivery of the package, Jack turned and disappeared into the night.


End file.
